This was the jumper’s second exit from High Ultimate. He had jumped it once before – the day prior – and he had a very head low exit on that jump. He was current in the onesie and had been jumping it comfortably at other exits in the valley.
After that first jump at High Ultimate, he commented that he felt he had enough separation from the lower ledge that if he had needed to do an emergency front flip, he could do it and still clear the ledge. On his second and fatal jump at the exit, video from Low Ultimate shows that the jumper went very head low and then onto his back – completing the first half of a front flip – before falling out of view. The eye-witness jumper at low ultimate heard an impact and then saw a canopy flying without inputs.
Jumpers near the LZ saw a canopy in line twists landing south of the LZ and ran over to the jumper after he bounced on landing. It was immediately apparent that the jumper was deceased based on the state of his head and body. The jumper’s helmet was gone, he was not wearing a camera.
His bottom closing loop was missing and his top closing loop was broken, which, along with eye witness account from low ultimate and the state of the jumper’s body make it clear that the jumper impacted the ledge in freefall and his parachute deployed when the force of the impact opened his container. He was pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene.